a brief stay in Moscow

We took a midnight train (I know you want me to say"to Georgia") to Moscow.  The night trains are slower and so incredibly hot...ugh!  I think because it is so cold outside, everyone overcompensates by heating to extreme degrees.  We had a nice little train compartment and we shared it with two other people.  Lucky, for Wes they spoke German.  At least we could communicate. 

 We arrived early in the morning and immediately hopped on the Metro to our Hotel.  The metro system in both St. Pete and Moscow are amazing.  Trains come every two minutes or less.  The only down side, is that they. are. packed.  And  there is also the worry about pick pocketers and muggers.  Also, they are super hot too.  That is one thing I could not get used to.  I dressed in warm clothes thinking it was going to be so cold out, but by the end of the trip I was just sporting a long sleeve tee and a jacket.  After a quick shower and tiny nap (I barely slept in the stuffy train compartment), we were off to Red Square.

 It was such a surreal feeling to be on Red Square.  The above picture is me with the famous St. Basil's Cathedral behind me. 

 Wes fit in with the locals!  Most of the men wear some sort of hat and probably 85% wear the the cappies similar to the one Wes is sporting. The first day on Red Square, we visited the Armoury museum with in the Kremlin walls.  It is said to be one of the best museums in Moscow.  It is pretty cool.  There we saw carriages that many of the tsars and tsaristas traveled in.  We also saw Ivan the terrible's throne along with many of Peter the Great's clothing, crowns, and other misc. items.

 We took a stroll around the perimeter of the Kremlin.  Notice the traffic...it is always jam packed.  It makes walking and taking the metro seem much more reasonable.

 Within the Kremlin walls I can't even count how many cathedrals there are.  These are just a couple with the golden domes.

Day two in Moscow I was so sick, that I spent the morning in bed.  I must have slept for 13 or 14 hours straight.  While I was sleeping, Wes hit the streets to find souvenirs. 

Later that night we went to a show at the Tchaikovsky Theater.  It was a group of dancers that did traditional Russian Folk dances.  It was really good!  The arts are so important to the Russian culture and the house was packed on Thursday night.  We were hoping to see a ballet at the Bolshoy Theater, but it was actually closed for renovation and just reopening the day we took the train back to St. Petersburg.  So instead, I just did some ballet moves in front of the Bolshoy

The building on the right is the Gum (pronounced "Goom").  During the communist era it was made into a mall of sorts with amazing window displays to try to ensure the people that everything was okay.  Today it is still a mall and it is spectacular.  There are so many fancy stores and security everywhere.  I'm sure they were a little wary of us with and our huge backpacks. 

The train ride back to St. Petersburg was a fast train.  It only took about 4 hours.  I read a book and Wes took plenty of pictures of the landscape outside.  High speed trains are such a great way to travel. I wish there was one from Sacramento to Beaver.  It would make traveling home so much more enjoyable!